


Tactus

by TransformersG1fan271



Series: Uncharted Soulmate AU [2]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, also focusing on Sam's trauma, this is a continuation of my soulmate thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:08:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24229372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransformersG1fan271/pseuds/TransformersG1fan271
Summary: Solitary changed Samuel, a lot more than he liked to let on.Rafe is the first to see this.
Relationships: Rafe Adler/Samuel Drake
Series: Uncharted Soulmate AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748848
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Tactus

Prison really  _ sucked _ .

Of course, no one needed to be told such a thing. Samuel avoided the topic at all costs, and no one in his little family brought it up. Sure, save for Elena, they had all been there before, but Sam’s stint had been different. Most of the last fifteen years had been spent in solitary, and it changed him. Dark and enclosed spaces made his blood pressure skyrocket, tensely cracking jokes until he was free and away. He couldn’t sleep in a room with its door shut, rarely sleeping if a job called for a hotel stay. Shut doors could become locked, and Sam just couldn’t take that chance, not with anyone.

The biggest change had become touch.

Rafe was the first to see the changes. Sam had been out of prison for a month, buried so much into his research that the billionaire often came across him asleep over some desk. At first he would leave Sam be, but the complaining about his back was growing tiresome. Finding Sam, yet again, asleep on top of his work, Rafe rolled his eyes. Reaching out to jostle the other, he felt Sam freeze under his touch, light snore cutting off in an instant. Rafe froze, trying to see how Sam would react, faintly worried about how close his face was to Sam’s hands. In a turn, Sam only let out a faint mumble as he sat up. He wavered in place, glassy eyes staring at the desk without actually registering the furniture.

_ “Samuel?” _ Rafe took a hesitant step back, the older man turning to look at him with a blank expression. For a moment they stared at each other, Rafe slowly extending his arm.  _ “Come on Samuel, you need to sleep in your bed...for once.” _ It had been the kindest Rafe had ever been, but more to hopefully avoid Samuel from lashing out in case he thought Rafe was someone else. Thankfully, Sam stood up and clumsily grasped Rafe’s arm, and the two shuffled to the bed feet away. Sam sat down heavily, and as Rafe started to draw back, he was stopped when Sam clamped down onto his hand. Annoyance flashed over his face, but it soon turned to confusion as Sam began to run his free hand over Rafe’s fingers and palm. He seemed almost fascinated by it, eventually taking Rafe’s hand and squeezing it.

_ “Mhm…’s nice ta touch again…” _ Rafe stood still as he was finally released, Sam slumping over with a quiet sigh. The way Sam had sounded so sad haunted Rafe for the rest of the night, and deep down it made his heart ache.

It’s not brought up again, not until Libertalia is revealed for the world, and its treasure secured within Rafe’s possession. The said billionaire is recuperating in one of his many homes, constantly being hounded by the investors of the company he now solely owned. The remains of his father, who had forced his way into the hunt for Avery’s treasure, have yet to be found.

They won’t be, Sully’s made sure of it.

Rafe doesn’t care and is surprised when one day the investors don’t come to pester. No, Samuel Drake enters his room, arms piled high with baked goods and books. It’s been some time since he has seen either Drake, and he doesn’t fault them. All of their work with Rafe, gaining his trust only to have him turn on them...Rafe wouldn’t want to be with himself either. At first, there’s only silence as Samuel drags over a chair, sitting just within arms reach of Rafe, who glances down at his lap, at his only hand. Madness had driven Rafe to take up a sword against Nathan, and in the end, it had only come crashing down upon Rafe.

Literally.

He wasn’t sure how, but his body had jumped at crucial milliseconds before tons of treasure had come crashing down. His left side had become pinned, resulting in the loss of his arm and half of his leg, and yet despite that, he had survived.

_ “Why?” _

It’s such a soft question, and yet to Sam, it had been shouted.

_ “You’re a part of me, and I couldn’t let you just die.” _ The chair scrapes against the hardwood, and calloused hands enter Rafe’s view. They’re so gentle in taking his hand, thumbs gently rubbing over smooth and manicured skin. He can feel the slight tremble in Sam’s hands, and he gives a gentle squeeze.

_ “I never asked...but why do you recoil, only to ask for more touch?” _ Perhaps he shouldn’t be so blunt, and deep down he knows why, but Rafe looks up. Sam, usually having a calm look about him, is starting to take on the look of a trapped animal. Sam opens his mouth, but the words are lodged in his throat. It’s strange to see the elder Drake, who was always so suave and confident, fumbling at answering a simple question.

Rafe finds himself upset with this.

_ “Solitary...it ain’t a good thing.” _ It sounds so stupid, the words finally tumbling free, but Sam doesn’t know what else to say. How do you explain the darkness that swallows you up, giving you no solace of your surroundings? How do you explain clawing out a path around your hovel, so that you could tell what space was what? How do you explain hallucinating the very sun, trying so hard to remember the light and being able to see? How do you explain the lack of human contact, so much so that you crawl to the door and press your ear against it, trying to hear  _ anything,  _ or trying to reach someone to touch?

How do you explain the sobs, the nightmares, the hallucinations that always faded away, again and again?

Rafe pulls his hand away, and before Sam can move, rests it against a scarred cheek. His mind, so abuzz with rising panic and regret, short circuits at the touch. Navy eyes dart up, meeting seafoam that is resolute and calm.

_ “Join me, Samuel...you don’t need to explain.” _ It takes a few minutes, and some jostling to avoid bandages before his statement is fulfilled. Sam has carefully tucked himself beside Rafe, cradling the smaller man against his chest. Rafe’s fingers are currently running through Sam’s hair, each touch lingering before it is repeated. Sam has one arm around Rafe’s shoulders, resting just above the bandages that concealed the still healing surgery site, his other arm around Rafe’s waist to anchor him close. It just was so much at first, but Rafe’s gentle motions and occasional mumble put Sam at ease. For a long time, Sam thought he would never be able to feel someone else’s touch, that he would die in the darkness lying on an unforgiving cold stone. Now he was lying on the softest mattress in existence, being held by his soulmate who didn’t judge his biggest need.

Maybe he would be alright after all.


End file.
